My first few mock tests were humbling in ways I didn't expect. Looking back, most of my lost marks weren't from not knowing the material — they were from avoidable mistakes.
The biggest one: I attempted questions in the order they appeared, instead of scanning the paper first and starting with my strongest section. This meant I sometimes ran out of time before reaching questions I could have easily solved.
The second mistake was guessing on questions I wasn't confident about, without considering the negative marking. A few careless guesses cost me more than the marks I gained from the ones I got right.
The third, and most important, was not reviewing my mistakes afterward. I'd check my score, feel disappointed, and move on to the next test without ever understanding what went wrong.
Fixing these three habits — smart question ordering, disciplined guessing, and thorough review — improved my scores more than any additional studying did.